Online Classes: College Preparatory Writing for High School

As high school students prepare for college, it is important that they develop strong writing skills. This course gives students the necessary tools to write effective college research papers to help them succeed after high school.

Advanced Research Writing: Preparing for College

(click on course title to register)

Note: Due to the advanced nature of the feedback, only 16 students are admitted to the course.

Class dates: Wednesdays, October 1 to December 10, 2014. No class Nov. 26.

Total classes: 10

Starting time: 11:30 am Eastern (10:30 Central; 9:30 Mountain; 8:30 Pacific)

Duration: 1 hour

Prerequisite: Simplified Writing for High School or equivalent.

Suggested grade level: 10^th to 12^th grade.

Suggested high school credit: ¾ semester Writing

Fee: $230 for all 10 classes.

Instructor: Sharon Hamric-Weis, JD

Course description: This course will cover advanced research and writing methods for argumentative research writing, how to craft an advanced research paper, and understanding style guides (APA, CMS/Turabian, MLA, AP). A bibliography and research paper will be written during the course.

Course outline:

Class 1: What is research writing? Terms and methods.

Class 2: Advanced research methods: Using libraries and the Internet.

Class 3: Style guides and citations.

Class 4: Creating a bibliography.

Class 5: Creating your outline and thesis: advanced methods.

Class 6: Prewriting: styles and completeness.

Class 7: Outline with rough cut proofs.

Class 8: The rough draft.

Class 9: Revising and editing.

Class 10: Final drafts.

Course materials: Word 2007 or later version. eBooks: 1) Simplified Research Writing by EB Conroy; and 2) Simplified Writing 101: Top Secrets for College Success by EB Conroy. Available from www.amazon.com (download the Kindle app for free to easily read on your computer, tablet, or mobile device).

Homework: Students will have weekly writing assignments and direct feedback from the instructor, with an estimated four to five hours per week for homework (outside of class time) that includes researching, reading, writing, and responding to feedback.

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About the Instructor

Sharon Hamric-Weis received her undergraduate degree in Secondary English Education from the California University of Pennsylvania and taught both middle and high schools courses at the Palm Beach County School system. During her last year of teaching, Mrs. Hamric-Weis converted to the Catholic Church and was confirmed. Upon her acceptance to the Dickinson School of Law, she and her husband then relocated to her home state of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Hamric-Weis practiced law as Assistant Counsel for the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and has been published in the Dickinson Journal of International Law, as well as working as a decision writer for the Pennsylvania Board of Workers’ Compensation. After working in law, Mrs. Hamric-Weis left her employment to raise her children and homeschool for several years before returning to work as a paraprofessional teaching and caring for a student with multiple disabilities. She is happy to be homeschooling her three children and teaching the advanced writing courses for Homeschool Connections.

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About the Course Designer

Professor Brown Conroy has been teaching writing for 17 years, including teaching students in private colleges, universities, and online. She was an online professor of writing and research for Patrick Henry College (six years) and taught writing, leadership and management, and health and wellness for Cornerstone University’s Professional and Graduate Studies Division (seven years). Professor Brown Conroy is an author of several non-fiction books, including Simplified Writing 101: Top Secrets for College Success and Twenty Secrets to Success with Your Child; designs online courses (including an AP English Language and Composition course for PHC Preparatory Academy online); and speaks at conferences on education and learning, reading, and writing. She has a BS and MA from Western Michigan University (WMU) and is currently completing an MFA in Creative Writing at Western Colorado State University (WCSU) with a double concentration in Creative Writing, Genre Fiction and Screenwriting. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators, she is also a fiction writing coach for high school and college students; has judged writing contests; and has been a freelance professional writer in marketing/web writing and ghostwriting for twenty years. Professor Brown Conroy authored True North Reading: The Complete Mastery Reading and Spelling Program – a five-level multisensory learn-to-read program for children ages 2 to sixteen, and teaches an international online LIVE reading program at www.readwitherin.com. Mrs. Brown Conroy, who has been homeschooling for 29 years, lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan and homeschools four of her 13 children who still live at home.